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Sometimes the rain brings ...

This was an unplanned shot. I read somewhere that one can find a good sunset following rain. It rained intermittently all day. The pavement was wet when I looked out my bedroom window this morning. Perhaps that was in the back of my mind when I walked out of my doctor's appointment and noticed that it had rained slightly during my appointment. I looked up at the sky and then quickly drove up Route 27 along Carnegie Lake to the Kingston end of the D&R Canal trail.

I wasn't sure I would find a good place to shoot the sunset. The dam is under repair so the area I thought I might use was not accessible. I walked along looking for a clearing in the trees. The golden light was fading fast.

I had some challenges with the tripod. I recently changed to an Arca Swiss style clamp and camera bracket. In my haste, I brought with me only the tripod, camera remote, and level. This proved to be a mistake. The Arca Swiss bracket was loose. The Allen wrench was in the camera bag in the car. I tightened as best I could with my keys. I had to do this several times in between shots.

I didn't realize it but the battery in the camera was almost exhausted. After about four sets of bracketed images, the battery gave out. Good thing too. I was so engrossed in focusing and composing the shot I did not notice that the light was fading fast and the sunset was almost ended. I had a long walk back to the car.

The image is a three exposure HDR from Photomatix. I applied a filter I created in Adobe Lightroom. What do you think?

Whisky Sour

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Over the summer I experimented with Scotch-based cocktails. Why? Because I could. Because I like whisky. Because it was hot outside today and I was bored and can’t find a movie to watch on Netflix or Apple TV.

The basic Whisky Sour is whisky, some sort of souring agent, a sweet syrup, bitters and optionally, an egg white. I found a basic recipe on scotchwhisky.com.

This is my second attempt at making a Whisky Sour. On my first attempt, I used the last of my 12 Year Macallan and lemon juice concentrate and skipped the egg white. It was good, but for my second try, I used freshly squeezed lemon juice and Macallan’s 12 Year Double Cask. The Double Cask is aged in American and European Sherry seasoned oak casks.

My son helped me separate the egg white. He’s not old enough to drink but he’s an excellent chef. He has the skill to separate the egg white. I do not.

I did not have a cocktail shaker, but since I am experimenting with making cocktails, it seemed appropriate to have one. I drove around town hoping to find a cocktail mixer but none of the local liquors stores nor the grocery store sells cocktail mixers. The manager at the ShopRite even commented that, with the exception of alcohol, the store sold everything else needed to make mixed drinks.

I gave the managers at both liquors stores an odd look after being told they didn’t carry any cocktail shakers. A look that basically said, “what fracking sort of liquor store is this”? I found one a few weeks later -- several in fact -- when I visited Gary's Wine & Marketplace in Hillsborough.

Here’s the recipe I used to make what I think is a delicious Whisky Sour.

Whisky Sour

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

My interpretation of a classic cocktail



Credit: http://104.236.229.226/

Ingredients

  • 50ml McCallan’s 12 Year Double Cask
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • 15ml agave syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 egg white (optional)
  • 1 dash of Tangerine bitters

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake without ice. The egg white creates thickness and a thin foam that adds to the look of the cocktail. Now add lots of cubed ice and shake hard for about 15 seconds. You can pretend you are in a Spanish band. Using a cocktail strainer and a tea strainer, strain the drink of all ice into a chilled martini glass.